February 7, 2014 by Vinnie Leduc
So will the diminutive playthings crumble into choking hazards like Battleship, or can they stack up to other sequelized toy adaptations like G.I. Joe and Transformers? Surprisingly, these little guys could end up being the biggest winners of them all because by now you might’ve heard that EVERYTHING IS AWESOME!!
Sure, I played with Legos as a kid. Who hasn’t? I’m not a Lego fan or anything though, but I had been looking forward to The Lego Movie because the quirky trailers promised witty and self-aware humor, dazzling and action-packed animation, and what seemed like a fun escape from reality that could resonate with all ages.
This 3D package delivered all of that and more. I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised, for directing team Phil Lord and Chris Miller has already shown off similar comedic beats and flashy sequences in Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and 21 Jump Street. However, The Lego Movie still manages to serve the unexpected. I’ll leave it at that, so you’ll have to go see it for yourself.
As a PG-rated family film, you’d naturally expect the motion picture to shove some loud moralistic message down your throat. And it does… but The Lego Movie does it better than most Disney or DreamWorks movies do, and that’s because it’s found a way that’s not only hilarious, but also in a way that only the best Pixar flicks can: by connecting generations.
The voice cast is awesome. Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, and Morgan Freeman inject plenty of life and charm into their characters. Will Arnett and Liam Neeson, the only positive parts of last month’s animated POS The Nut Job, continue their fine work here as Batman and Bad Cop, respectively. I thought Will Ferrell would be just another obligatory addition to the comedy, but I’m very glad to report that he doesn’t phone it in.
There shouldn’t be any reason to block you from humming, whistling, or straight up singing “Everything is Awesome!!” after seeing The Lego Movie, even if the nostalgia does not apply to you. The perfectly paced 3D adventure is the first excellent movie of 2014, and with no Pixar picture scheduled this year, The Lego Movie is an early favorite for best animated movie of 2014. Dare I say that Lego may have built its very own masterpiece? The Lego Movie gets 5 out of 5 stars.
